(LE MARS)--An agri-business firm is helping a rural Le Mars farmer make a gift to a not-for-profit care group.

Monsanto territory manager Doug Blezek of Le Mars gave a 25-hundred dollar check to Good Samaritan Society-Le Mars on behalf of customers Jerry and Donna Varenhorst of rural Le Mars. They were chosen as the Plymouth County winner in the "Farmers Grow Communities" project.

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Jerry Varenhorst is a grain producer farming about 600 acres west of Le Mars. He says it was a real surprise to be selected by Monsanto. Varenhorst had his farm family in mind when he selected Good Samaritan Society-Le Mars for the donation.

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Good Samaritan Society-Le Mars administrator Karen Mousel says there is a wish list of needs for the residents and the campus that Jerry and Donna Varenhorst will select from to use the Monsanto donation.Listen wish

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More than 75-hundred farmers participated in the "Farmers Grow Communities" project. (LE MARS)--History in homes and churches is showcased next weekend in Le Mars.

The Le Mars Historic Preservation Commission and the Le Mars Arts Center are offering tours of four historic homes and St. Joseph's Catholic Church.

Tours begin at the Arts Center, 200 Central Avenue Southeast, from 10 next Saturday morning until 5 in the afternoon.

Brochures about the featured historic structures will be available at the Arts Center.

SIOUX CITY—THE CHIEF DEPUTY OF THE WOODBURY COUNTY SHERIFF OFFICE SAYS NOT A WHOLE LOT WILL CHANGE UNDER THE NEW GUN PERMIT BILL SIGNED BY GOVERNOR CULVER THURSDAY.CHIEF DEPUTY GREG LOGAN SAYS THE CONCEALED WEAPONS BILL WILL MAKE IT A BIT MORE DIFFICULT FOR SHERIFFS TO REJECT PERMIT REQUESTS, BUT NOT TO AN EXTREME EXTENT.Listen here

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HE SAYS SOME OFFICIALS KNOW INFORMATION ABOUT AN APPLICANT'S HISTORY THAT IS NOT INCLUDED IN THEIR CRIMINAL RECORD, THAT MAKES THEM A DANGER TO CARRY A WEAPON.

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SHERIFFS NOW WILL ONLY BE ALLOWED TO TURN DOWN APPLICATIONS FOR SPECIFIC REASONS, SUCH AS BEING A CONVICTED FELON OR BEING DECLARED MENTALLY INCOMPETENT.

CULVER SAYS THE MEASURE STRIKES AN APPROPRIATE BALANCE BETWEEN THE RIGHT TO CARRY A GUN AND PUBLIC SAFETY. (NEWS REPORT FROM JOSIE COOPER/KSCJ NEWS/POWELL BROADCASTING, SIOUX CITY)

The Farm Bureau honor credits Tiefenthaler Quality Meats of Holstein with being a great example of a thriving business that has built a reputation of excellence in their community with a round-the-clock dedication and attention to details that has helped them remain viable, even in tough economic times.

They custom-cut many different types of meat for farmers as well as hunters. Farm Bureau Economic Development Administrator Sandy Ehrig says it's Tiefenthaler's long track record of dependability that keeps folks coming back.

The meat business's products include No Mess Chili Dogs and seven different flavors of Skinless Bratwurst.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin says nearly $4 million will be coming to Iowa to fund the Weatherization Assistance Program. The Iowa Democrat announced the grant Thursday in Washington.

The Weatherization Assistance Program is a federal grant program to help reduce the heating and cooling costs for low income people, particularly the elderly, disabled and children, by improving the energy efficiency of their homes. It developed from a program that stressed low cost, temporary measures installed by volunteers, to a program that uses trained crews and contractors to install permanent cost effective measures.

The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Energy.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Can't wait to cast your ballot?

Secretary of State Michael Mauro says Thursday marked the beginning of the early voting process for the June 8 primary election.

Absentee ballots are available at county auditor offices throughout the state, and staffers will mail them to those who request a ballot.

Absentee ballots for those in the military were mailed April 24.

A number of contested races will be decided in the primary, including the Republican nomination for governor and the Democratic contest for U.S. Senate.

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CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) Prosecutors have asked a federal judge to sentence a former kosher slaughterhouse executive to 25 years in prison, less than the life sentence they have said they were entitled to request.

Sholom Rubashkin gave a tearful, halting speech at the end of his sentencing hearing on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. He was convicted of 86 counts of financial fraud in November.

Prosecutors had added up the charges in pre-sentencing documents and the total came to a life sentence. But assistant U.S. Attorney Pete Deegan said in court that the government would seek 25 years.

Defense attorney Guy Cook said the request for 25 years is ``still requesting a life sentence'' for the 50-year-old Rubashkin.

U.S. District Court Judge Linda Reade says she'll issue a ruling on May 27.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) Cedar Rapids police and authorities at Prairie Point School are investigating a bathroom fight that sent an eighth-grader to the hospital for surgery.

Thirteen-year-old Peyten Sexton is suffering from a broken jaw and fractured cheek bone.

He says the problem started when he bumped into someone in the hallway on Tuesday. A day later, on Wednesday at lunch time, he walked into a school bathroom and was surrounded by other students, including the one he allegedly bumped into. Sexton says he remembers being hit at least four times.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa (AP) A state patrol official says rescuers who responded to a Henry County crash did not immediately know there was more than one person inside the pickup truck.

Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Russ Morey says when 64-year-old Gary Albright was rescued from the truck, he failed to tell rescuers that Catherine White was still inside. The 47-year-old White died as a result of the crash.

Albright was driving his truck Saturday night when it went off the road and rolled in a water-filled ditch. Morey says heavy rain in the area at the time may have been a factor.

Charges are pending. The investigation is continuing.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) Federal prosecutors have charged a 65-year-old Dubuque man with buying meat and meat products that had been stolen from interstate shipments.

The defendant, 65-year-old Donald Herbst Sr., appeared Thursday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids and was released on bond.

Federal prosecutors did not have information on his attorney.

According to an indictment filed earlier this week, Herbst knowingly bought and had stolen meat from the fall of 2006 through 2007.

If convicted on all charges, Herbst would face a maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Several state attorneys general have sued two companies that sell automobile service contracts, alleging that they misled consumers by claiming the products were extended warranties.

Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray says a lawsuit filed Thursday in Ohio alleges that Missouri-based U.S. Fidelis and California-based Credexx Corp. used misleading tactics to sell contracts administered by separate companies. Credexx does business as Auto One Warranty Specialists.

Cordray says consumers have filed dozens of complaints.

Besides Ohio, attorneys general in Idaho, Kansas, North Carolina and Washington filed complaints against both companies. Iowa, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin also sued U.S. Fidelis.

Representatives of the companies could not be reached for comment.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) The Glen Oaks Golf Course in West Des Moines now has a new owner West Bank.

The course was over $8.3 million in debt and was put on the auction block Thursday in a Polk County sheriff's sale. But no one bid on the course, so West Bank, which owned the note on the course, bought it out.

Glen Oaks is the home of the Principal Charity Classic Champions Tour Tournament.